The London 2012 Olympic Games are upon us! Watching the Olympic events is one of our favorite pastimes here at Really Right Stuff. So much that we wanted to celebrate the games with a couple of contests. The prizes for both are a BH-40 LR*!

The first contest is for all those who are able to make it to the actual games themselves and who brought their RRS gear with them. Take a picture of your RRS gear at one of the events or in the vicinity. (Hint: showing competitor's gear won't score many points with the judges.) The shot should also convey the spirit of the events.

The other contest is for those who are celebrating the games wherever they are. Take a picture that portrays the spirit of the 2012 Games and follow the submission instructions below.

For both contests post your picture with a description on your Facebook page, blog, or other photo sharing site and send us the link along with a copy of the image. All submissions must be made by Sunday, August 26th 2012 and the winners will be picked by the following week and posted on August 31st.

**RRS is not affiliated with or sponsors of the Olympics or the London 2012 Olympic Games in any way. This is our simple attempt at engendering the Olympic spirit. "Olympic[s]" and the Olympic Rings logo are registered trademarks of the IOC.

Transit of Venus Recap

Transit of Venus

We had overwhelming response to the newsletter last month, particularly for the Transit of Venus article. In it I asked for an explanation for the jagged edges around the Sun and Venus. I also said that I would post the explanation here along with the website of who sent it in. Of course I could have regurgitated what I learned from some basic web leg-work, but I wanted to hear from you, and I'm glad I did! The only problem is that there were so many who responded that I am only going to list the first five readers with the correct response.

A very basic explanation is that it's caused by turbulence in our atmosphere (which will change with the weather, temperature and from location to location) and the respective atmospheres of the celestial bodies you are observing.

I found this site to be a pretty reliable resource for looking this stuff up. For all those who are passionate about astronomy or astrophotography and have better sites, please post them on our Facebook page for others to see.

Thanks for all your input!

Joe Johnson Jr.

Cascade Camera Club Group Shot

George Lepp and Robert Agli invited me to present to the Cascade Camera Club in June and gratefully, Robert was so kind to spend the better part of three days showing me the immensely varied scenery of Central Oregon. Club members indulged me recounting my RRS story, our obsession over product design details and the virtues and vices of manufacturing in California, USA. Just before the meeting started, Robert set up a group shot of the members posing with their RRS gear. Thankfully for us, per-capita consumption of RRS gear in Bend is on the high side! (I'm the one monkeying around on the right under the tripod).

Joe Johnson Sr.

Image copyright: 2012 Robert Agli Photography

Tips and Tricks

A few of our customers have asked for a good way to open the doors covering the side ports on their cameras while they have an L-plate mounted. There are several plates on the market that make this a little difficult. Shifting or removing the plate is generally not an option or is very inconvenient and creating a deep scallop in the plate would weaken it significantly. The way I recommend most is to use the corner of an ID card or credit card to push the door open. I like this method best because almost everyone has one, it is highly unlikely to scratch the camera or damage the door and plate and also because they are very unlikely to be confiscated if you go through an airport.

Joe Johnson Jr.

We're available by phone Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm PST (-8GMT). We are closed weekends and holidays. Call us anytime to request our catalog. Call during business hours to ask any question related to photography.

call 805-528-6321 ortoll-free from within the United States & Canada 888-777-5557